Leon called Zeke for a ride to his parents' mansion, worried they might end up drinking at the dinner party. He cursed at Leon because he was already at his parents' home, and wished Leon would've mentioned it beforehand.

"Next time I'm busy, just call for a taxi." Zeke sped off to park the car after they got out.

"You're a bit mean to him, aren't you?" Ella asked.

"He's worse, trust me... And it goes both ways, anyway. That's what it's like when you spend so many years together, almost like brothers, but he's technically my assistant."

"In some cases, that happens between older and younger siblings."

"True. So, are you ready?" Leon held his arm up to her.

"Not really." She wrapped her arm around his, her hands shaking.

They walked together to the entrance. "Young master." The elderly attendant waiting outside the door narrowed his eyes as he stared at him. His eyes flicked over to Ella and trailed down her. "Miss." He gave her a small bow. "I hope this evening turns out well. And young master, try not to make a mess of things."

"You realize I'm an adult now, right? You can't keep treating me like some bratty kid you'd rather not deal with, Richard."

He opened the door and pointed inside. "Enter; your parents are expecting you, unless you plan on running again?"

"Geez, are you this rude to everyone?" Ella couldn't help but ask. "Or do you hold some enmity towards Leon?"

"Ahem." Richard adjusted himself. "I'm sorry for my rudeness. Please enjoy the party." He gritted his teeth, holding back from saying more.

They entered the mansion, and Leon couldn't help but smile at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Thanks for that; I struggle to deal with him, even now."

"And... I probably stepped over some line, didn't I?"

"Nope; he had it coming. Ha, finally... Now, if only I could say something like that to him myself."

"Why does he treat you like that?" Ella whispered as they passed through the ginormous entranceway. Damn, I knew he was loaded, but this is a bit much. She eyed the golden accents everywhere and wondered if it was real gold.

"Lavish, isn't it?" Leon asked, noticing her wandering eyes. He didn't care for it much; it was too much even for his tastes.

"Yes... But seriously, what happened between you two?"

"I may have... run away while on his watch when I was little... more than once."

"I see..."

"I think he got fed up when I vanished while we were on vacation; he got into a lot of trouble."

"Why did you run away?"

"A variety of reasons, but mainly loneliness, I think. My parents didn't have a lot of time for me, so they pawned me off on him way too much."

"I see... Loneliness can be a big burden." Ella couldn't help but think about her own childhood. While she was close with her mother – unlike Leon with his parents – her mother was generally busy trying to make sure they had everything they needed to get by in a harsh society.

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about that anymore." He looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes and wiggled her arm.

"True..." Maybe...

They entered the gala room, and Ella halted, stunned by the sheer size of it. I thought it looked big from the outside, but this... What the hell?! Do they really need this in their house?

Tables were set up all around the room for people to sit and chat while either drinking or eating. A long table lined with food had a few servers behind it. Two people in their forties were in the middle of a crowd near the back of the room.

"They're busy as always," Leon mumbled. "Why'd they even bother inviting us when they're so busy?"

"I... don't know. I'm used to dealing with a slew of customers, but this... there're too many people here for my liking." Ella kept close to Leon as she looked around, pressing up against him when she tried to avoid bumping into people.

"If you feel an anxiety attack coming on, or even just want a breather, let me know and we can go get some fresh air." He gestured towards a set of double doors on the other wall that led to the backyard.

"I'm guessing it's too early to go get fresh air now, right?"

Leon chuckled, finally easing some of the tension in his expression. "I wouldn't mind some fresh air, but as soon as they know I'm here, they'll expect me to go to them. They're self-important like that."

"Might be considered good manners."

Leon shrugged. "Was it good manners to try to force me to come here?"

"Good point."

"Leon!" a deep voice called out to him. The crowd around his parents split, and they walked up to Leon and Ella. "So you finally showed up?"

"You make it sound like we're late." Leon sighed.

"If you're not early, you're late."

"No, if you're not early, but not late, you're on time. If you're late, then you're late." Leon rolled his eyes.

"Quit with the sass, boy. Now, come here with your lovely bride-to-be." He forcefully gave them both a hug.

The crowd around them gasped and whispered amongst themselves.

"That's right," his father said. "This lovely lady here is my dear Leon's fiancée."

Ella's heart raced as she felt all the eyes turning to her. Does he make a spectacle of everything?

"He finally found his wife and things will all fall nicely into place. Come, sit with me and your mother." He led them over to where his mother was sitting at a table. He excused himself from the crowd, wanting a moment to talk to them. "Say, have we met before? You look familiar?" he asked Ella.

"Um..." He looks a bit like an older version of Leon, so it's hard to say.

"Are you hitting on her?" Mrs. Hunt asked, frowning at her husband.

"No, of course not. I mean it, she looks familiar. Don't you think so?"

Ella squirmed under his gaze, an urge to run filling her.

Mrs. Hunt rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry about my husband." She held her hand out to Ella. "Nice to meet you, Ella. I'm Molly Hunt, Leon's mother."

"Nice to meet you, too."

"Robert Hunt," his father said. "So, you're finally taking your inheritance seriously."

"When was I not serious about it?" Leon asked.

"You were always so flippant and never tried seriously dating a woman. Sure, you tried to sneak around, but that ended quickly after we sent more people to keep an eye on you."

Leon stared at him flatly. "Don't you even hear how crazy that was?"

"I had it the same way; it's not a big deal. Although I was quite a bit younger than you when I got married." He smiled at his wife.

"You just don't give a damn if it doesn't affect you." Leon grabbed a glass of wine and leaned back on the couch.

Oh no... Ella reached over and rested her hand on his hand in his lap.

He gave her a small smile and let out a sigh before lacing his fingers through hers. "It doesn't matter, now, but that said, no future generation will have some silly stipulation like that forced on their life."

"On that note, how long until your wedding?"

"How long until we have grandbabies?" Molly asked.

"I don't know." Leon gripped her hand tighter. "But if or when that happens, is when it happens. Right now is not the time to think about that."

Surprised they'd want grandkids with how little attention it seems they gave Leon.

Robert looked at Ella again, his eyes narrowed. "Might not want to wait too long, though. If I remember correctly, you're already thirty, so your timer is ticking on the baby front being easier."

Ella gritted her teeth. It wasn't the first time she heard it, and she was tired of all the flack everyone gave her. Why should she rush to have kids? Did she even want them? So what if she was thirty? People much older than her still had kids.

"That's the thing with older women—"

"Can you not criticize her? Seriously..." Leon huffed. "I love her and we're committed to being with each other; can't you at least be happy about that instead of pushing?"

"Love?" Robert frowned. "At first sight or something? Whatever." He sighed. "I'm just glad you're finally tying the knot, and I can give you a proper position to ready you for a takeover."

"Aren't you too young to be giving up the spot? And besides, I have my own flourishing business to deal with right now."

"And I'll absorb it into mine, eventually."

Leon sighed and took a drink of wine.

"You do want to inherit the family business, don't you?" Robert asked, finally paying attention to how Leon was acting.

"If I don't, I know what'll happen to it, so yes..."

"Then what's all the fuss about?"

"What if I want to keep the businesses separate?"

"You want to compete with me, which will eventually be you...? That's preposterous!"

"Dear, he just wants his own business for now." Molly rested her hand on her husband's shoulder. "He can at least keep his business name."

"I helped him start it, anyway; it's not like he started from nothing."

"Neither did you."

"I..." he trailed off, knowing she was right.

"He's already agreed to be married like we required of him, so why not give him a few years before really pulling him in? How about we focus on the wedding for now? He can focus on his business while we do that."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Leon asked.

"No," both his parents replied.

"In my twenties, and still nothing has changed."

"So, Ella, we invited you here to talk to you, not our son." Molly turned her attention to Ella.

Ella tensed up, wishing she could vanish rather than be subject to their scrutiny.

"You don't have to be so nervous, dear; we don't bite."

"I beg to differ," Leon couldn't help but speak up. "You two have the sharpest fangs of anyone I know."

Molly frowned. "You shouldn't talk like that, especially here." She glanced around the room. The others had moved so they could talk, but they were still within earshot, and plenty of them were listening in.

"If you're worried about that, maybe we should've met up in private, not at a party with all your friends."

"And they're your friends too, or at least they will be soon," his father said. "And you can probably expect most of them at your wedding, so how about you go chat with them and make nice while we get to know Ella better?"

"I'm not leaving Ella's side."

"Do you think we'd harm her or something?"

"Not exactly..."

"Of course, we won't; she's to be our daughter-in-law."

"I always wanted a daughter." Molly sighed.

"I didn't think you wanted more than one kid." Robert turned to her. "We do like our private time, after all."

"It's a good thing you didn't have more than one kid," Leon said, but it fell on deaf ears, as they were in their own little world talking to each other. "Although, I guess I would've had someone to play with." He sighed, thinking about what it would've been like to have a little sister.

"I think I need some air," Ella mumbled, leaning her head on Leon's shoulder.

"Me too. Ahem," Leon cleared his throat. "Well, you got to meet her, and we need to excuse ourselves for a moment." He stood, Ella's hand in his. His parents were still not paying attention, so they left.

Leon led them upstairs.

"I thought we were getting some air?"

"There's a balcony in my room too, and no one else will be there."

"Oh, I see." Could definitely use a bit of quiet time.

Leon took a deep breath as he approached a door and grabbed the handle. "This... is my old room. I still use it if I stay here." He opened the door and let her in first. He watched her carefully as she looked around his room.

"All these paintings... are they yours, too?" She pointed at the ones on his walls.

"Some of them are, and some are from the person who taught me to paint when I was younger... though their time with me was quite limited."

She stopped in front of a painting of a woman walking away on a beach, glancing over her shoulder as she held onto her hat.

"This looks like the same woman from the other painting. Who did you say she was again?"

Leon thought for a moment, but he couldn't remember what he said. "A woman I met once when I was younger."

"By the way, do you have a photo album or something? I want to see what you looked like growing up."

"I do, but there's not much in it outside of forced pictures with their business partners and family."

"Still..."

"I will take your interest in my pictures as a good thing, then." He opened up the cabinet near his desk and scanned the binders. "Here." He pulled one out and smiled at it for a moment before handing it over to her.

"You seem too happy now, considering you were reluctant a few seconds ago." She took the album and sat down on his bed.

"Because I remember some precious memories in there. Have a look." He took a deep breath and sat down beside her.

She opened it and couldn't help but smile. "You were a cute baby."

"Are you saying I'm not cute now?"

Ella's jaw hung open for a moment. "Well... You're handsome now; I don't know about cute..." I'm sure he can be, but that's better off left unsaid.

"Handsome?" Leon nodded. "I like the sound of that."

"They always throw big birthday parties?" There were pictures from all his birthdays, and there was always a crowd of business people around.

"Ah, yes, it's always business with them. A pile of presents to go with a crowd of strangers, none of which actually care. Trust me, all these parties suck."

"By the way, where's Zeke? I thought he'd end up joining us after parking the car?"

"Probably being put to work by my parents instead of letting him enjoy the food or something. Then again, Zeke is good at talking up the business people, so he's probably doing that."

Ella turned the page and froze, her heart skipping a beat. "This..." She lightly touched one of the pictures. "This looks like me..." What in the world is going on? "Wait a second..." She looked at a picture of a teenage girl knelt down beside a young Leon, a look of surprise on her face as he kissed her on the cheek. "I... I remember this... I must've been around fifteen at the time? I... I've met you before? That kid was you?"